A Shadow's Light
by Ekoaleko
Summary: Ever since her clinic promotion, Elli has been what Stu likes to call a workaholic. Time is like a distant gift from the heavens to her now. Slowly, the time spent working is the time spent away from realizing what she's missing out on... FOMT
1. A Shadow's Light

A Shadow's Light

The skies were a fluorescent grey, and the clouds a frizzy heap of clumped static. The once bright leaves of the summertime trees had been disgraced to gaunt shades of shadows, and the flowers reduced to the field of weeds that devoured them from its surroundings. The birds that circled Mineral Town from a high proximity continued to sing, but their chirps were diminished to sorrowful gawks, bringing pain to the village residents' aching ears. The grass splayed among the town's angles and edges ran an endless, crinkled yellow, and even the cobblestone paths bore grave colours. A mixture of disdain settled among the air, and untouched bleakness swelled the sky.

Had Mineral Town not been wrought with its inhabitants, the day would not have been overlooked.

"_Eeeew_, look how ugly today is," Stu forwardly pointed out, his eyes ascending with a lazy glaze. "All the clouds are in the way of the sun."

Elli looked up from her desk, annoyed. "Well, of course you can't really see the sun. It's way after six." She eyed her paperwork once more, trying to tune out his voice.

"Elli, I'm bored…" Stu whined after a few eventless seconds.

"Good for—why don't you go over to May's house, Stu?" Elli suggested, half-bothering to mask her scorn.

She'd recently been promoted to a full-time doctor's aid, and additional paperwork was one of the many more duties to be fulfilled. Though it was a holiday, the night of the fireworks, to be exact; she was still trapped inside the sterile white walls of the clinic, working. Alas, her grandmother had fallen asleep after incoherent mumbling, and lay dormant in her rocking chair. Stu, being Elli's little brother, had to tag along with her so he wouldn't rouse her. For now, he was only worsening his sister's mood.

"May is sick," Stu answered. "Uncle Barley _never _lets her out when she's sick." There was a nagging tone in his voice that brought splinters to her brain.

She craned her neck over her desk to leer at him. "Then why don't you sit still and keep quiet while I finish working?" she spoke, trying as hard as she could to refrain from cursing. Then she snapped back to her uncomfortable wooden chair, hunching over and scribbling words in cursive so tight and small no one would be able to read them.

However, Stu noted his sister's crankiness, and shut his mouth. He sank back on the waiting couch that so many sick patients had sat on before, dangling his feet silently.

It hadn't always been like this. Elli was usually really, really nice, and rarely angry. She was kind, caring, and best of all, _always _played with Stu. Ever since her promotion, she had started working harder and harder and coming home later and later. Now, she was barely ever home to tuck her little brother in, and when she was, she refused to; Stu's company being his grandmother, Ellen, who was very ill, disabled, and asleep half the time.

Stu knew it wasn't his grandmother's fault that she was so sick, but he was unsure of whether or not it was _Elli's _fault that she had been becoming such a snappy sister. Was she changing…forever? He didn't know if he would be able to take that.

"Okay, Stu," Elli sighed after an incredibly long amount of time spent adorning skinny, white papers with the lead of her pencil. "I'm done here. We can close up shop now."

Stu leapt out of the cushy couch without hesitation. His legs had been beginning to cramp. "Okay."

He watched as Elli collected everything and stacked them into three neat piles. Then she collected a single bag and slung it over her shoulder, giving him a nod as she approached him.

"What's that for?" Stu asked as they started for the door, gesturing to his sister's shoulder.

Elli rubbed her eyes with one knuckle, using her other to help carry the weight of the bag. "It's the paperwork I didn't finish. I have to resume doing it when we get back home."

"Oh." He kicked at several rocks that came across him, looking over at Elli from time to time as they walked. She didn't respond, however; she was too busy yawning or rubbing her eyes or temples. When they reached their house at last, Stu reached up to open the door.

They stepped inside quietly, just to be met with Ellen's closed eyes. Her chest rose and fell gently in her cushioned rocking chair, so Elli began to tiptoe to her work desk. Stu, on the other hand, whipped off his shoes and ran as quietly as he could to the window above his bed.

"What are you doing?" Elli began, but her words caught as she realized Stu was peering out into the now-night sky.

His eyes were stretched with amazement, and his fingers were wrapped tightly around the rim of the window glass. Elli stepped up beside him wordlessly, both of them letting out small gasps as colours suddenly shot through the sky. They exploded as they ascended, looking like the iris tails of the blinking gold stars. They filled the dreary air with spirit, the colossus of luminosity skyrocketing to heights untouched. Brightness burst through the air, causing twin pairs of eyes to squint with fascination. The dye of the foreign glow of fireworks faded alas, and at the exact moment Stu and Elli stared into each other's eyes.

"It's pretty," Elli commented quietly after an appreciative pause.

"…Uh huh," Stu replied obnoxiously, not wanting to admit he, too thought the display of light was absolutely gorgeous in his eyes.

"It's too bad they only come once a year. I would love to see it everyday…"

"No, I think once a year is good enough," Stu replied, producing a cold pause.

Elli shuffled as she extracted herself from the window. Her eyes wandered to her desk and back. "Well…" She opened her mouth to say more, but Stu cut her off.

"You have to get back to work, I know," he rasped, a little too harshly, the fireworks in his mind peeling off like dry paint. Then he received his own words and shrank back in recoil. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Elli seemed gravely silent. "It's okay, Stu," she finally said, with stone engraved in her words. Then she turned around, but not quick enough to disguise the tear that brushed through her lashes. "What am I saying? Of course it's not okay. I've been working so much, that we can never spend time together anymore. We couldn't even get a proper view of the fireworks. Oh, I'm sorry, Stu…"

"It's okay, big sis. Really. I don't like fireworks that much anyway." He tried to shrug, but his shoulders were stiff. "I think I'm going to bed now."

"…Do you want me to tuck you in?"

"No thanks. I'm too old for that now."

Elli seemed to be shocked by his response. But when he gave her a stifled look, her face turned indefinitely hurtful. "Of course. You're growing up now."

Stu was a bit surprised that she had fallen for his lie so quickly, but he realized she meant the words all the same. He _was _growing up. And he was going to have to act his age, too. "Goodnight, sis."

Finally she turned away. "Goodnight, Stu."

He changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed, but not before heading over to his calendar, realizing Elli was watching him in the corner of her eye. He ticked off the words "FIREWORKS FESTIVAL" marked in bright red and then dropped into bed, pulling his covers on so tight his muscles twitched.

**xoxo**

"Wow. You've got to admit, that was really pretty," Karen commented, causing several townspeople to look over at her. She was usually a sarcastic, dryly negative person, but after viewing something so beautiful, her mood seemed to have shifted.

She turned to face her date, Jack. "Isn't it?" she urged.

Jack grinned. "Not as pretty as you are," he flirted, causing Karen to glower at him. She ended up laughing edgily and punctuating it by punching him in the arm.

Rick watched from a secluded corner of the beach, feeling particularly cold. He barely acknowledged the fireworks. The only thing he could see was Karen, and the man that resembled her prince. He shuddered with lost pride. _That should have been me. _

"Aren't they cute?" Popuri, Rick's pink-haired sister, squealed from her location on the beach, turning to face her boyfriend, Kai, exuberantly.

Kai was a full-time traveler, and only resided in Mineral Town during the summertime. Now, it was summer 24, so he only had six more days remaining until he left. Popuri was trying to spend as much time with him as she possibly could.

Kai caught onto Jack's macho method of making girls happy instantly. He replied with a sincere, "Not as cute as you are."

This caused Popuri to giggle girlishly and give him a bonecrushing hug. Once Kai re-admonished his circulation, he flashed Jack a mocking thumbs-up. It seemed like Jack could never score any PDA, except punches. So far, after two full weeks of dating, Karen hadn't even given him a private (or public) hug, kiss, or snuggle. She hadn't even held his hand. It made him feel pathetic, yet it set his heights higher.

Mary, however, peeked shyly out from underneath a multicoloured umbrella, blushing and turning away when her gaze caught Gray's. She fiddled with the hem of her blue dress, only wishing she could've watched the fireworks with Gray. She was too shy to ask him, and he was too shy to ask her. At least, she _thought _he liked her. It was becoming evidently obvious.

Ever since she was little, she'd loved to read books of all kinds— romance being among them. After all the happy endings she'd sucked in, she had begun to wonder: weren't couples supposed to end being… different? Weren't opposites supposed to attract?

Mary loved reading; Gray loved reading. Mary was incredibly shy; Gray was incredibly shy. Mary was particularly introverted, as was Gray. All along she thought she and Gray were both the red ends of the magnet.

Little did she know how different they truly were.

Ann, who was standing at the edge of the dock cheering, paused to glance around. "Oh, they stopped already?" she questioned, dumbstruck. She looked at Cliff from afar. He blushed deeply. "Hey Cliff, what are you doing all the way over there? Can you even see from that far?"

"I… uhmm…" Opting to turn away, he was unable to tune out Ann's obnoxious voice.

"Come here! Join me!" Ann called excitedly. "The fireworks may be over, but you shouldn't stand alone!"

Cliff opened his mouth to speak again, but only small mumbles exited him. Then his cheeks hued a furious pink and he rushed back into town, Ann looking incredulous from behind.

"Well, fine, I was just _suggesting_ that you could come join me…" she snapped to herself, turning and folding her arms. "Sheesh. _Men_!"

Claire, who was watching from a nearby bench that separated Kai's shop, the Snack Shack, from Zack's house, giggled.

"You'll understand them one day, Ann," she said, smiling understandingly.

Ann scowled in disagreement. "As _if_. They're like aliens from another planet. Sometimes, I don't even think they're from this_ era_. Hah! Imagine that. You know, one day…"

Claire giggled again as she listened to Ann rant, but her friend's tirade faded as her blue eyes flickered to a lone presence at the edge of the beach. Her eyes softened sympathetically at the sight of Rick, who was eyeing Karen with the slightest hurt in his bespectacled face.

"…You know, in the end, I suppose guys kind of are like us girls too," Ann suddenly concluded, causing Claire to look up at her with a startled gasp. "What? Did I surprise you?" She scanned the beach until her eye caught Rick sharply. "Oooh, Claire has a crush."

"Do not," Claire fired back. "I just feel sorry for him. He really likes Karen."

Ann shrugged, dismissing a word of empathy. "Well, his fault for not making a move on her. Jack got her first. And Karen likes Jack. So he should get over it."

For lack of anything to say, Claire gave her another light chuckle, sinking back to admire the glitter of the lost fireworks that sprinkled through the night, forgetting about Rick and Karen altogether.

The festivities slowly died down as the stigmatists of the village staggered away, vision greatly obscured by the aftereffects of the fireworks. Everyone was chattering as they scrambled sleepily into their homes, and in a matter of minutes the lights died and beds occupied. The glow of the fireworks seemed to sustain angelically against the moonlight, and rays spawned upon the midnight waves. It seemed to be the only light in the entire village.

However, far to the north of town, just west of the clinic and east of the library, a single incandescent lightbulb swayed in the ceiling of a nurse's home. She slouched over her desk, the wooden chair making pressmarks into her spine, a pencil scrawling furiously into a lined paper beneath her. Then she shot back, suppressing a great sigh, using her knuckles to rub against her tired eyes.


	2. Early Morning Dust

A/N: It's an update… finally. I understand this chapter is pretty short, but that's because this is not gonna be a very long fanfic like my other two. Maybe 15 chapters or so, I'm not really sure yet. So far it's leaning towards Elli-centric (which is a bit new for me, considering I can't catch styles off other people… honestly, there are BARELY any Elli long-fics out there) but I'll probably start switching POVs to show the other townspeople's perspectives. This is another Elli chapter. Uh… yeah. Thanks for reviewing!

(P.S. Don't get confused with the underlined titles. They represent the chapter titles, not the title of the story. And yeah, I changed the title name because I hated it. Sorry for the confusion.)

Early Morning Dust

Elli tried as hard as she could to continue to write, her wrist, knuckles, and back aching against the skeleton of her position. Her letters seemed to form into decrepit black smudges, and the pencil to a thin blob of yellow. Her consciousness drifted in and out, ebbing away as soon as it came forward. She struggled to grasp it, blinking hard to rectify her vision. Her brown eyes were already searing with the remnants of the fireworks. If only she'd stopped to take a rest earlier. Her grip on the pencil broke and it fell deafly to the ground.

_Can't… sleep… must… work… _she tried to boost herself. She bent down and snatched the pencil, just to sink limply into her hip, on the verge of slumber. She glanced behind her, where Stu and Ellen were fast catching Zs. Why couldn't _she_ be allowed to sleep? It wasn't fair.

Though, in reality, she _was _allowed to sleep. It just didn't seem sincere enough not to be on top of everything in her new appointed position. The duration of position hadn't lasted too long, and she was doing a good job, but things still troubled her: her social life.

Her little brother, Stu was evidently upset whenever she came home late; she barely had the extra time to hang out with her friends; she was seeing less and less sunlight each passing day. But most of all what was lacking was her love life. All around, romance bloomed, whether it was unrequited or onesided or true. But with her, she had _none. _It seemed like every male in the district was taken. And she wasn't desperate enough to take a boat to the city.

Once again, her pencil was at work, but she stopped half-sentence to try to remember what she was writing about to begin with.

_Therefore, recent studies prove… _she reread the words over and over again. Recent studies prove what? She was a nurse, not a scholar.

_Losing it, Elli, you're losing it… _Finally giving up, she scooted out her chair, receiving terrible squeals from the floorboards. She tucked it in, quietly this time, before making her way to the other bed. She'd have a nap. A tiny, two-minute nap. Harmless. Absolutely harmless.

She snuggled into a gingham comforter, and before she knew it, she was having more than just a nap. The black hands of the clock revolved once… twice… thrice.

**xoxo**

That morning had been absolutely chaotic. Elli had awoken in panic the instant her eye caught the clock, throwing on a fresh change of clothes and dashing through a rush-shower, without time to even brush her hair, however short it was. She'd broken into a run all the way to a clinic, but halfway there her feet seemed to stop from under her, remembering it was Wednesday.

Her day-off.

Barely able to contain her anger towards herself, she decided that she was already awake and might as well get a kick-start to the new day. From that point, she headed to the supermarket to lift a heavy burden off her chest.

She was presently in an uncomfortable position. "This, please," was articulate behind bundles of containers.

Elli struggled to set the goods she was to buy on the counter, smaller packages slipping from her cradled grasp and spilling to the floor. It felt like there was an open void in the ground that was sucking her in as she tipped helplessly, her muscles as tired as her eyes. She took another shaky stagger forward and ended up tripping, disgorging the entirety of her things onto a poor, defenceless Jeff.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, meekly trying to gather her groceries with limp hands.

Karen, who helped run the supermarket (seeing as she was Jeff's daughter), watched from afar. Quickly gathering herself, she rushed to the inept nurse's aid. Her limbs, nimble and strong compared to Elli's relatively frail ones, twisted to collect the fallen supplies. Finally, she managed to stuff everything into two circular, spacey baskets.

"Thanks…" Elli said once the calamity had ended, blushing. She looked down, feeling like a clumsy, blundering idiot. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually such a klutz. I don't know what's gotten into me lately."

Karen gave her an understanding look, taking over the position at the cash register and leaving Jeff free to go back and tend colour coding the seed packets. "Don't worry, Elli," she assured her. "I think you're just tired. After all, you really look like you're killing yourself working recently."

Instead of being offended at her bluntness, Elli just let out a contemplative sigh. "You're right. I mean, you're not the first to point this out. Just last night, Stu—"

"Speaking of last night," the ever-so short attention span-bearing Karen interrupted rashly, "where were you? I couldn't find you at the beach anywhere. I even saved you the best spot, beside me and Jack on the pier."

Elli grinned weakly. "I was… working." Then her face fell quick as gunshot. "Oh, I _do _overwork, don't I?" she cried in dismay.

The look that had sprouted on Karen's face was not one of surprise; sympathetic, even. "Elli," she ordered, suddenly serious. "You have _got _to loosen up a little. Take a dip in the hot springs, go home and take a nap. Don't let work get in the way of everything."

Jingling signalled the door's opening and a familiar farmer stepped in, eyeing Karen expectantly. She let his figure fall into the background, giving Elli a "see?" look.

"_I_ definitely don't let work get in the way of _anything_," she sniggered, wandering off to sidle up next to Jack. "Going on break, dad," she called. She went on before Jeff could even register her words. "Dunno when I'll be back, might not even come. See ya!"

And with a small wave to Elli that looked much more like a swat, she sauntered off, Jack attached to her hip. Karen suddenly stopped by the doorway, looking over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah," she remembered, "I put your groceries in two baskets. We ran out of bags. They're 5000G each, and since there are two… well, do the math, will you?" And with another flick, they were off and out the door.

Elli sighed and let her hands flit her pockets. Sometimes, and just sometimes, she wished she could have a boyfriend like Karen…

**xoxo**

Stu looked up from where he sat on the floor, his company being a little girl named May and a long, winding toy train track. His eyes widened when he saw Elli, leaping up to greet her.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're back early!"

Elli merely shook her head, too tired for a proper response. She set the groceries down before turning to Stu. "It's Wednesday, Stu," she told him softly. "I don't go to work on Wednesdays."

Stu seemed ox-headed. "Then what about last Wednesday, and the Wednesday before that? You weren't home 'til so late! What were you doing then, huh?" he demanded.

Again, Elli barely managed a sigh. "Well, seeing as Wednesday is the only available day of the week, Stu, I'm always very busy."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" the young boy protested. "It's your day-off! Aren't you _not _supposed to be busy?"

"That's just the thing, Stu… I have so much to do besides work that I only have the time to do it on this day." She enumerated a list, even if Stu didn't want to hear it. "Like visiting friends; going to the library; buying groceries…"

Tears squelched Stu's eyes and he blinked hard. "No; you don't get it! That's not just the thing! The real thing is…you're _always _busy!" He noticed how Elli blinked back in shock and backed down, looking angry and defeated. "Forget it." He turned his head, acknowledging the other girl for the first time. "May, let's go to the Goddess Spring with Popuri. I'm bored."

Elli's face froze in a hurt mask as her little brother brushed past her, not even bothering to bid her farewell or even note her presence. May got up and started to follow him, stopping when she was at Elli's side. She looked up.

"Don't listen to Stu," she said quietly. "He does a lot of dumb things when he's mad. I would know."

Then she broke into a run, Stu's yells audible even through the wall. Elli's eyes followed, coming to a halt as twin blurs rushed past the threshold.

"Maybe better than I would," she murmured. Her eyes flickered to her fatigued body and she suddenly felt, if possible, even more tired.

She scanned the wall-clock, struggling to keep her eyes intact. It was only four o' clock… but still late enough for an afternoon nap. She trudged to the other room for a remedial rest when she heard her name being called. She hurried over to tend to her grandma Ellen, whose shrills were still resounding.

"Yes, Grandma?" she asked.

"Elli?" Though Ellen was speaking to her, she stared straight ahead. "…What is my favourite vegetable?"

Elli faltered slightly, more confused than anything else. "Pumpkin, if I recall… why?"

Ellen shook her head, sense coming to her. "No reason. Thank you, dear…"

Panic began to thrum up the young woman's chest, so she approached the occupied rocking chair shakily. "Why, Grandma?" the plea in her voice echoed.

She heard the old woman let out a short breath, one that resembled a stressed sigh. "Just a Grandma-thing. Don't worry about it."

Elli remained for a few moments, still unsure. Finally she heard, "Are you still there?" She responded with an unseen nod. "Yeah. But…"

"Good. Elli, if you could be so kind, would you please go pick some more Moondrops for our vase? It's been looking awfully empty lately."

She glanced over at the dusty vase, which now looked like an antique of the ancients. She wondered how her grandmother even knew the vase was empty, but decided against asking. "Sure," she answered. "I'll be back in a few hours, I guess."

"Thank you, dear."

Again, she had been aimlessly torn from her interlude nap. Tired bags amended the lids of her honey-brown eyes, and she held in a yawn as she headed for the door. She stopped when Ellen's voice sounded once more.

"Elli?"

"…Yes?"

"Please don't work too much."

She felt her heart sink, unable to find a proper answer. "…Okay," she finally managed.

Then she slinked out of her house, as dejected as she'd been any other Wednesday before.


	3. Meek Decision

A/N: Well, this is weird. This fanfic is like my free time chill-pill. I'm not pressured to get chapters up in "time", and the plot is wide with ideas. Yet it's difficult, because I'm a full-throttle-angsty writer. Not part time. So I try to tip this with the right amount of angst, yet I keep rewriting and taking it all away. Honestly, if this were one of my more tragic projects, several unnamed people would've died by now.

Thank you The Scarlet Sky, Moonlit Dreaming, Kuruk, klutz586, Radioactive X-Naut, and MyShadowsThorn for reviewing. This chapter's short, but much less tedious, I assure you :D The prologue is still underway.

Meek Decision

It was Thursday, and like every other Thursday before, Elli was working. She sat slumping at a desk, penciling away into a form she had to complete. For some reason, she felt especially stressed out today… especially _tired_. That morning's toil hadn't been hard in any way, it was just that everything took so long to complete. And to think just that she stayed working six days a week, it meant she got so much done. No; some projects even required an entire season to finish…

Bells jangled in the distance and Elli looked up, her expression mixed between irked and confused. The clinic wasn't as commonly visited as the general store, and usually people only came for annual check-ups or prescriptions. There were two regulars, however: Lillia, the frail mother of Popuri and Rick, and Jeff, Karen's dad who always claimed to feel sick. "A tummy ache won't kill you!" Elli wanted to snap in his face, but her outer kindness prevented so.

However, as of late, the regulars had upped to three people… the latest being Elli's grandmother. On top of work, chores, and (rare) leisurely activities, not a day passed where Elli hadn't worried for her. She was old enough to begin with, and disabled for many years. An inner disease, though… she feared such a thing.

The doctor gave Ellen medicines and shots (though more often than one should), claiming she'd be okay if she just kept coming. For some reason that annoyed Elli beyond belief; couldn't he do some thorough examination, not just check off some general statements and hustle to the drugs?

Clicking back to the presence, Elli blinked and scooted out from her desk to see who the visitor was. She was a bit surprised when she saw Popuri scurry into the room, wide-eyed and out of breath.

She jumped to conclusions. "Is your mother okay?" Elli demanded, worry panging into her heart. "Did she collapse? Is she showing any symptoms of sickness?"

"No, no, relax," Popuri breathed, her voice surprisingly calm in comparison to her unkempt appearance. Cutting to the chase, she added, "I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Elli considered this. If she chose good, then that would mean her happiness would be quickly demolished by the bad news. If she chose the bad news, then the good news wouldn't seem as good if it didn't make up for the bad news. There was no in-between option. It was one or the other… dilemma…

"Well?" Popuri urged after just a few short seconds.

"I'm thinking," Elli began, but Popuri blurted out before she could continue.

"Good news first!" she cried impatiently. "…We're throwing a goodbye party for Kai! I know he loves big, commotional parties, so I basically invited everyone. So…obviously, you're invited!" She seemed so much more gleeful than Elli felt. And she knew why.

Work would probably get in the way of everything.

Nonetheless, she smiled wide. "That's great, Popuri." She braced herself for the latter part of the message. "Bad news?"

"Oh. The bad news." Popuri's grin was wiped off and she suddenly looked sheepish. "The party's in two days, because it's Zack's birthday in three days and it'd seem mean to throw _Kai_ a party. Plus it can't be on the thirtieth, obviously, since that's when Kai is leaving. And obviously it can't be today, and tomorrow is a bit short-notice…" She coughed. "So it's in two days."

The nurse furrowed her brow. "Um, how is that a bad thing?" she said.

Popuri folded her arms. Naturally, she hated explaining things. "Well," she ventured, suddenly looking meek again, "I haven't exactly planned it yet."

Elli blinked. "…Huh?"

"Yeah." Popuri began to fiddle with her hands. "I was never good at stuff like that. And I know _you _are. That's why I came here. And since Kai means a lot to me and so do you, and of course I'll always mean a lot to you…"

Elli shrank back, recognizing the pleading insinuation in Popuri's voice. Her pink-haired friend looked wistful as she gazed into Elli's eyes. But she knew she couldn't flat-out reject her proposal. Was it even a smart idea to accept?

"I want to, Popuri…" She bit her lip when a happy squeal rang through the clinic walls. "But I don't know if I can."

Popuri looked hurt and shocked, like she'd just been turned down at the altar. "But why?" she asked, as if her mother had just told her she didn't want her anymore.

"Well… there's just so much to do. So much I haven't finished yet." She intentionally avoided the w-word. "I just don't know if I can pack planning a party in two short days into my busy schedule…"

"But Elli!" Though still standing, Popuri was begging now, in the image of a disowned daughter. "I only get to see Kai thirty days a year! What if he leaves and he forgets me, and he has nothing to remember me by? It should be a memorable last day! I'm sorry for the short notice, I really am, but for just _one_ little day…" she protested, now close to tears.

"…Oh, Popuri," was all Elli could fumble. "Kai? Forget you? Ha, don't make me laugh." She felt the slightest tinge of jealousy pinch at her insides, feeling positively drained. "I mean, I want to," she started again, surprised when Popuri didn't interrupt.

Instead, she looked stricken. The features on her face now matched that of her hair. Intangible tears withheld in her eyes and her bottom lip puckered slightly. Elli sighed, giving in at last. "Oh, fine."

For the second time, Popuri exploded with glee. "Awesome!" she cried, her tragedy-prone-façade dropping in an instant. "Meet me at the inn at around noon for lunch, okay? We can eat lunch and then plan stuff. Karen will be there too. Remember to—"

Elli interrupted. "What about the other girls? Why can't they come?"

"Well, Mary has to work," Popuri began, and instantly Elli felt a bit bemused, considering that could've been _her _inevitable excuse. "And Ann is busy distracting Kai so he doesn't come to the inn. It's a pretty tricky procedure." She raised a brow. "You're not gonna be… busy, are you?"

Elli stiffened visibly. Busy was practically a synonym to work. She _would _be busy. But… "Maybe I can make some sort of compromise with Doctor Tim…" She somehow linked the words out of her mouth. "And I can make up for the work I missed on Wednesday or something."

Fortunately, Popuri saw the faults to the idea. "But it's your day-off, Elli," Popuri pointed out. "I don't think Stu would like that."

"Stu doesn't like _anything_," Elli replied flatly. She knew it sounded mean, but it was true. He didn't like flowers, baths, effort, being bored… it drove her crazy. That child practically had _attention hoard _plastered dubiously against his forehead; he was just so hard to please...

"It's alright, though. It's just one day…" She tried not to put emphasis on the last two words, but she couldn't help it. Wednesday was the one day of the week she looked forward to. It was the one day that gave her access to freedom and made her feel there was more to herself than the ability to write documents. That even without romance, even with waking up each morning as a single nobody, she had a life.

"No, it's not okay," Popuri said stubbornly. "Wait here one second. Doctor Tim and I are going to make some… _arrangements._"

Elli opened her mouth to protest, to tell her the doctor would never let her off to plan a party, but Popuri didn't even listen. Her head was high in the air as she marched for the doctor's office, but at last Elli caught her attention. "Please don't!" she cried, shriller than intended.

She pivoted, confused. "What's the big deal?"

"The doctor, he'll think…" Elli turned away in embarrassment, her gaze groggy. "He'll think I'm lazy… off-task… I don't want that."

For nearly a whole minute, Popuri stood her ground and stared at the nurse with pure incredulity. "You?!" she finally trilled, unable to contain the obstreperous volume of her voice. "_Lazy_?" Then, right then and there, she started laughing hysterically. "Are you totally crazy?"

Elli sighed. _I say one misleading thing that she happens to nitpick and now she's over the edge. _"That's not what I—"

"That's funny, Elli. Reaaally funny." Shooting her a dazzling smile, she flipped her pink hair behind her shoulder and a thump sounded as she shut the office door, forgetting to knock.

Elli grew nervous as she waited for her friend to reappear. Little people in the town knew Doctor Tim— well, actually, _everyone _knew him, considering he was a doctor and well liked among all. But all that affection was generic. He was popular because he was a doctor, not because of who he was. Elli was one of the few people who _knew _him. Outside, he was a serious, no-nonsense busybody who cared deeply about anything, anyone. But inside…

The door opened after what seemed like a split second and Popuri stepped out, lips looping into a happy smile. "He said yes," she proclaimed, skipping up to intertwine arms with Elli. "Let's go the inn now, shall we?"

"How—" Elli began, but Popuri cut her off with a childish "shh!"

"Just… trust me on this one, okay?" Popuri batted her eyelashes, but they couldn't hide the sly glint in her eye.

Fathoming her devious intentions immediately, Elli silenced herself. "Right, the inn," she muttered, and could barely keep on her feet as she was pulled out the door.


	4. Party Poopers

A/N: Sorry for the slow update. Plot troubles. I'd say what's on my mind but then I'd be telling you all the spoilers, so I'll keep my trap shut for now. I don't really like this chapter but I got sick of procrastinating and waiting for ideas to come to me… and it's more than a filler but less than an important chapter, whatever that's called. A… spiller? Right, so… hope you like it.

Party Poopers

When Karen, Elli, and Popuri arrived at the inn and seated themselves in their favourite three spinny chairs, they were having more than a little trouble getting straight down to business. Barren of ideas, and paper of suggestions empty, the silence filled only with the creaking of the chairs as Karen spun around and around in circles.

Popuri looked from girl to girl, seeming worried. Elli, however, was far from worried; the chair creaks and moans were etching a permanent hole into her brain. She could merely watch as her pink-haired friend's fingers fidgeted with each other, and abruptly shot out, clutching onto a carton. She speed-read the label and giddily inquired, "Yep, soo… chocolate milk?"

Karen stopped revolving once she realized Popuri had broken the silence, taking a second to look at the chocolate milk carton, which had materialized in her friend's hands.

Popuri shook the carton for effect and then brought it back, nursing it. Ever so innocent, she looked from face to face, puzzled when she came across a sighing Elli and a glaring Karen. "Um… what?"

"What do you mean, _what_?" Karen snapped, looking like she'd just held something explosive in and was on the verge of spitting it out. Her chair whimpered from beneath her.

"Guys…" Elli tried to soothe them, hearing a storm brew.

"What do you mean what do you mean what?" Popuri challenged back, Elli's voice fading in the background. .

"What do you mean what do you mean when I mean what?"

"Hah! You got it wrong!"

"Oh, whatever!" Karen exasperated. "Aren't we supposed to be working?"

"Yeah. And we are."

"Um, HAH, no we're not."

Elli tried to cut things short before it could get any worse. Her headache was developing already. "If we could just make up…" she began.

Popuri huffed. "All I'm saying is, do you want chocolate milk! What's there to 'make up' over? It's Karen's fault for making such a big deal out of everything! I mean, sheesh! It's a yes or no answer! You don't have to get all… nyeh-nyeh over it!"

A retort sprang from the other side of Elli like an elastic. "Nyeh-nyeh? Popuri, that's not even a word! We're supposed to be planning and…" She made a sound that closely resembled a frustrated and pregnant cow giving birth to a crocodile with seven heads.

"And _what_? Finish your sentence, Karen!"

"Please… guys… if you could just—"

They cut out Elli's voice like someone tuning out of a radio station.

Karen shot an _I-was-just-about-to-do-that_ look right through an invisible nurse and to Popuri. . "…And all you can think of is food?"

"It's brain food," Popuri explained airily. "It's good for the heart and soul. Besides, we need nutrients and blah to think. Where do you think we get energy for our minds? Through our ears? Yeah, I'm pretty sure all that chair-screeching is doing us _so_ much good." At least seven words were mockingly emphasized.

"Guyyyys…" Elli droned helplessly.

Karen blockaded her voice, not to her surprise. "What mind? _If _you had a mind, you'd be so out of it now."

Popuri scowled. "Oh yeah, you're so immature, Karen."

"Popuri! Excuse me!" Karen's eyes flashed red. "_I'm_ immature? _You_ are so immature! You—"

The storm had hit, deluxe with lightning, thunder, and cannonballs. Elli smacked her head to the table, not catching the slightest bit of attention.

"—And you drag Elli and I out just to plan a party for your little boyfriend, with a two-day deadline no less, and now you expect us to do all the work! Who do you think we are? We have lives too! What do you think we do for a living… plan parties!? And to top that off, all you seem to be doing is playing around! What's the big deal?" Steam could've been animatedly billowing out of Karen's ears and no one would be surprised. It was a good thing the inn was empty or she would be stirring up a lot more commotion.

"Look!" Popuri shrieked, glass windows cringing at her pitch. "All I wanted to know was if you wanted chocolate milk or not!!!"

There was a tiny silence, which Elli savoured. But she knew it couldn't last. Karen seemed to confirm this, much to Elli's distress.

Completely dismissing Popuri's latest input, she scolded darkly, "Just face it. You're not a natural leader. Do you even realize that this is for your boyfriend's benefit, Popuri, and not ours? I mean, not mine, seeing as Elli doesn't…" Her words ended quickly, leaving Elli hovering self-consciously to the side, not knowing if she should react or not.

She stared ahead blankly, feeling embarrassed and hurt as her friends turned to ash in her mind. _Am I really the only one left? _She enumerated all the spouses in the village. _Karen already has Jack, as shallow as their relationship is; Popuri's with Kai, though I don't know how long that's going to last; Mary's going to have Gray, because it's obvious they're interested in each other; Ann's going to get with Cliff even if they aren't on great terms right now but it's no doubt adorable. Even with their faults, everyone has a boyfriend… a relationship… _She gulped. _Everyone…but me._

She tore a little inside. _Wait, Claire and Rick are still alone, aren't they? They understand. But…but Claire's so cheerful._ _She doesn't even care she's single. So why do I? _

There was a lull in the atmosphere, in which no one dared to even blink as Elli grew rigid and teary-eyed.

Karen knew she had said the wrong thing… again… and pretended not to acknowledge Elli. She leapt out of her seat, marched up to Popuri, and let off the rest of her steam. "Arrghh! Respond to me already! I have utterly no experience with this sort of party-planning-thing! Why'd you have to ask me? Anyone else could've come, but you picked me! Do you have something against me? Are you mocking me? Just because I'm not so good at cooking you think I'm good at this? Are you? Huh? Huh!?"

Popuri grinned. "Yep."

A groan left her and at long last, Karen gave in, crossing her arms. "If this party ends up sucking, I'm blaming you."

"Okey dokey," Popuri bubbled out in cheery reply. The argument seemed to have died quickly. "Wait one second though."

She brought out a carton and filled her cup with a browny liquid. "Chocolate milk?" she actually acknowledged Elli.

But the young nurse was distracted. "Um, sure," she muttered. She stared into her cup as it swelled with the dark milk, seeing the reflections of all the happy couples in Mineral Town.

_All the reflections except mine…_

**xoxo**

She was such… a disappointment.

That was the verdict Elli had come up with as she dragged her body limply to her house, the ends of her dress collecting dust and litter from the ground as she edged through the threshold. Her eyes swept from sight to sight, taking in a window with lingering sunlight streaming through it, and an empty room where Stu commonly played. But he was probably out playing with May because he commonly did that too; so what did it matter?

Though she felt dishonest and a bit cruel for taking advantage of her grandmother's ailments, Elli tiptoed, unseen and unheard, through the hall. The door shut nearly soundlessly behind her and when she finally made way to the couch, she collapsed onto it.

The instant she, Karen and Popuri had actually _tried _to get their brains ticking and working, havoc ensued. What followed was chatter, commotion, noise!…three things she wasn't hearing much of as of late, seeing as she spent most of her day behind a desk. To make matters worse, she couldn't help thinking of Karen's words as they replayed in her head over and over again.

"Do you even realize that this is for your boyfriend's benefit, Popuri, and not ours? I mean, not mine, seeing as Elli doesn't…"

"Have a boyfriend," she filled in the blanks hollowly. "And never will."

An awful headache had etched through her skull and clawed at her that entire afternoon, starting with her friends' argument and still resuming. Not to mention she was absolutely zapped of ideas— and the other girls weren't helping.

"_Elli? Elli? What do you think, Elli?" _

She wanted to shout in frustration. But before she could even reply _politely_, more requests and demands snuffed through her ears.

"_Red streamers or blue streamers, Elli? Are balloons too tacky? Can you make the banner, Elli?" _

Her mind was still buzzing with Popuri's high, dreamy voice and Karen's rough, demanding one. It appeared that every little detail of the party, from colour of cups to location, was imperative. It appeared she was obligated to understand everything; expected to know the answer to every single component down to the last milidegree of perfection; plan out and solve what everyone else couldn't! Maybe she hadn't experienced and traveled to all the places other people had, but it didn't mean she should be taken for granted. Her _presence _was taken for granted— because somehow, she just knew she'd be getting back to work at the crack of dawn next morning.

Plus she still didn't have a boyfriend.

She gave off an uncharacteristic yawn, stretching like a cat and resting her head on the sofa. When was the last time she'd relaxed like this?

_I should rest, _she thought to herself. _You have the rest of the day off… you deserve a break. _

She sank into the couch, trying to think of how long it had been since she'd been able to just lie there like a dead animal. But inevitably, she could not stay at peace; she was getting the feeling she forgot something…

Her wrist inclined and sent a slip of paper fluttering to the ground. It caught her eye, and upon scanning it, she gasped. It was one of the document files for Lillia's prescription, which would be mailed that night. If they didn't send it in time…

She sat up, holding her head, which seemed to weigh ten tons. _Off to work again… _she mused to herself. She toyed with the paper for a few moments, folding and unfolding the crisp edges. _No wonder no one wants to date you. No one even knows you. You're at the clinic all the time. _

Then, when she was done stalling and muttering to herself, she realized she'd end up going anyway and stood up. With the single sheet of paper clutched in her hand, she left, not even looking back when she heard Ellen call her name through the door.


End file.
